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As Wynwood’s gentrification nears totality, it seemed inevitable. The Miami Rescue Mission, a charity that serves the homeless and otherwise needy, has operated in Wynwood since the ’70s, long before the neighborhood’s recent arts-turned-touristy makeover. Well, with property values peaking in the area, the charity has put much of its land on the market for $22 million and plans to relocate.
According to the Miami Herald, three parcels of land on NW 22nd Street from First Avenue to First Court are up for sale. That’s a total of about 80,000 square feet. That land is home to the mission’s office, a center for victims of domestic abuse, and the Bargain Barn thrift store. The three plots can be bought individually.
The largest plot, where the Bargain Barn stands, is on the market for $15 million. The other two parcels are listed for $4 million and $3 million.
The mission operates other facilities in the area — an elementary school and men’s shelter — that it plans to keep.
The reasoning is clear enough: $22 million is a windfall for the organization. Its yearly operating budget is around $23 million. The sale would allow the organization to stay financially healthy, and it plans to relocate and even expand its services elsewhere in Miami. The sale would include a clause, however, that would allow the charity to remain on the premises for 12 months while it makes those plans. Which means the charity probably expects the land to be snatched up quickly. Other large parcels in the area have sold recently for seven figures, so that’s not a bad bet.
The charity should be fine if not stronger in the long run, but what good is a “hipster haven” of a neighborhood when it continues losing its best thrift shops? Of course, the Salvation Army remains right across the street from the Rescue Mission’s operations.
